Inter-ethnic Relations and Bounding Agency

Abstract

European countries are being urged to reform their educational systems to enhance the integration of migrant populations. In many respects, migrant-origin pupils still lack equal educational opportunities in Finland despite the targeted practices and support. This article concerns the inter-ethnic interaction taking place in study guidance and counselling in the final year of Finnish comprehensive school. It poses a question ‘how do young people construct their educational identities in classroom-level interactions in a multi-ethnic class’? The mixed methods research setting offers two sets of data: selective observation (two events) and life-span interviews (n = 8). The outcomes portray how multi-ethnic school classes open opportunities and supportive bridges for the pupils to contact other ethnicities. Nevertheless, the inter-ethnic interaction was also layered with societal hierarchies which constructed and bounded pupils’ ethnic and educational identities. Finally, the article emphasises the opportunities that the locality offers to the schools.